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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25545346">Midnight Meetings on the Reef</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Queen_of_France_and_Her_Empire/pseuds/Crescent_Quill'>Crescent_Quill (The_Queen_of_France_and_Her_Empire)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hamilton - Miranda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bioluminescence, Fluff, Hercules gets a bioluminescent boyfriend, Loneliness, M/M, Mermaid Thomas Jefferson, Sailor Hercules Mulligan, Thomas is bioluminescent, mermaid au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:14:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,422</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25545346</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Queen_of_France_and_Her_Empire/pseuds/Crescent_Quill</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hercules Mulligan is a sailor living a simple life yet always wanting something more than what he has. So, when he receives a map that would supposedly lead him to a great treasure hidden in a distant reef, of course, he follows the path it lays out for him. Even though he gets lost along the way, he still ends up finding the treasure... Or more like the treasure finds him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Thomas Jefferson/Hercules Mulligan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Midnight Meetings on the Reef</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As the sun began to sink below the horizon it painted calm waters with flame-like reds and tinted the skies with bright pinks. These fading golden rays created a near-perfect silhouette of a small sailboat and the man on board as it slowly drifted across the glassy surface of the water, disturbing its smooth surface with the ripples of its wake and scattering a school of silvery fish in the reef below. The sailor was a giant of a man, standing right around 7 feet tall with broad shoulders and rugged features. He was almost as gorgeous as the scene around him, but he was much too distracted with pacing back and forth across the deck and trying to make sense of the old parchment in his hands.</p><p>"So... If I did this right and this is the reef and back there was the sandbar then the archipelago should be just ahead of us?" He mutters to himself, suddenly stopping on the bow of the ship and looking up and around him. His eyes were bright with excitement, but it slowly faded into a dull realization when he was met with the sight of the infinite horizon of the uninterrupted ocean. "... I guess that's what I get for trusting an old coot in a bar with a map and fancy fairytale after a couple of pints." He then grumbles, pinching the bridge of his nose and muttering a series of colourful curses under his breath before he crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it overboard. "Useless piece of junk..."</p><p>Rightfully upset with himself, the sailor pulled a flask from his pocket and took a swig of the amber liquid inside. Sitting back on a crate pushed against the mast he watched, or moreso glared at the setting sun as the sky shifted from pink to red, to purple, and then finally to black as night fell upon the reef. He continued to stare up at the stars as they began to poke through the dark canvas of the sky before he sighed and stood, capping his flask and placing it in his pocket again.</p><p>"Time to turn in so we can figure this shit out in the morning." He mutters, fumbling with a match for a moment so he could light an oil lamp and hang it up above his head so he at least wasn't stumbling around in the dark as he tied everything down and dropped anchor for the night. Just as he took a rope in his hands and began to hoist the sails a ripple of movement and a flash of something bright and pink from beneath the waves caught his attention. "The hell...?" He murmurs, letting the rope fall from his hands and the sails fall slack as he took a step towards the water. For a moment the sailor thought it was some figment of his buzzed imagination and was about to turn back to the ropes before the light darted by again and pulled something beneath the water with a 'sploosh'. "The fuck?!" He exclaimed, rushing to the edge of his little sailboat and leaning over to peer into the water, looking for the light again.</p><p>"Was that a fish...? A glowing fish?" He knew about bioluminescence, having heard stories from other sailors and seen a few photos too, but even that didn't make sense. He'd heard of the algae that dotted the waves and beaches like stars and the freaky deep-sea fish that used light to lure in their prey, but nothing like what he was seeing now. Nothing he knew of was such a rich pink in colour like what he was seeing, and none of it could move so fast either. Again the sailor questioned if it was just in his imagination as he took out his flask, uncapping it quickly and taking a whiff to see if its contents had gone bad (if that was something that whiskey could do) before there was a sudden loud splash as his back was drenched with seawater and the small flame of his lamp extinguished. The water was still calm, so <em>something </em>had to have caused it.</p><p>"Shit, fuck--!!" The sailor exclaims, fumbling for a harpoon in the darkness and rushing for the other side of his little sailboat, ready for a fight and looking for the threat only for his weapon to fall from his hand and clatter against the deck. Now without the interruption of firelight, the world beneath the water was able to reveal itself to the sailor. Fear turned to shock and shock turned to awe as he watched the seagrass glow an azure blue, swaying anemones lighting up with scarlet hues, the forest of coral shine with shades of teal, indigo, and orange, and the schools of neon pink and blue fish that darted in and out from the nooks and crannies of the world beneath the waves. Nearly entranced by the other-worldly sight in front of him the sailor had forgotten about the earlier perceived threat and the streak of pink light he had first seen until--</p><p>"What the fuck!!" He exclaims, leaping back from the edge as his gaze locks on a human face poking out of the water and the curious indigo eyes looking back at him.</p><p>"I believe this is yours... You should be more careful." It spoke, its voice low yet smooth like a honeyed melody that made the sailor's knees go weak. He was stuck in a sort of shocked silence that he didn't notice the face had lifted an arm out of the water and was holding up a sodden grey lump that looked to be whatever was left of the map he had thrown out earlier.</p><p>"Oh, uh, thanks..." The sailor murmurs. He didn't know why he was so calm as he stepped forwards and kneeled down at the edge of the boat so he could reach for the ruined ball of paper, but he couldn't help the gasp that escaped him as he finally got a good look at what had approached him.</p><p>It had the head and the upper body of a human man and quite an attractive one at that with chiselled features and hair made up of long dark curls that looked well kept and soft despite being submerged in saltwater all day. As strange as it was to see a man living in the water, this was not what made the sailor gasp. Instead, his gaze locked on the 'man's tail. It was over twice the length of his torso and was crowned with a large and elegantly flowing fluke. Every scale was perfectly overlayed with each other and glowed with a rich pink hue in shifting intervals and levels to create a nearly hypnotic display of patterns as his tail swayed steadily to keep him in place against the light currents.</p><p>"Holy shit... You're a- You're a mermaid!" The sailor murmured, voice barely above a whisper as his fingers brush against the aquatic humanoid's as he takes back the ruined map.</p><p>"That I am, yes. You're quite the observant sailor, hm?" The merman replies with a warm chuckle, a sound that nearly makes the human melt as he rises further out of the water to rest his arms on the edge of the boat before he notices the harpoon and frowns, "I'm sorry if I startled you earlier, I just wanted to put out your light. This place can't thrive properly when there's something bright like that around, you see. I promise I mean you no harm, though, and thank you for not attacking me yet." He adds with a small sigh before smiling with sharpened teeth up at the sailor.</p><p>"Yeah, no, it's okay. No harm no foul and all that, I get it. This place is beautiful... You're beautiful..." He replied, only realizing what he had said as the merman laughs again and the sailor's face flushes with heat. "Uh- My name's Hercules Mulligan, though you can just call me Hercules or Herc. Do you have a name?"</p><p>"It's nice to meet you, Hercules. You're quite handsome yourself, especially for a human... My name is Thomas, at least, that's what I believe it translates to in your tongue." The merman earns a quiet 'likewise' in response from Hercules as silence falls on the pair. Thomas' expression was serene yet amused as he watched Hercules with those same curious indigo eyes, chuckling again as he catches him staring at his tail again. "It's alright, you can look... as long as you don't mind if I do the same, that is... I don't get many visitors out here, you see, especially not ones as kind as you." He watched the sailor blink quickly in response before he chuckled quietly and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. Thomas found himself enjoying the sound and wanting to hear it some more. "Is there a reason why you've travelled all the way out here on your lonesome, Captain?"</p><p>"No, not really..." Hercules replies with a sigh and a shake of his head, looking out across the dark horizon for a moment and taking in a deep breath. "Just heard some stories and got a map, I guess I thought it'd be like going on an adventure of my own if I found treasure or something like that. Pretty sure I got lost along the way, not that this place isn't nice... Just not what I expected, I guess." He explains, and the merman laughs in a melodious sound that made Hercules' breath catch in his throat before he slips into the water and began to swam lazy circles on his back around the sailboat.</p><p>"Even if you did get lost I think you've done pretty well. This place isn't easy to find, after all, and it's not every day you get to meet a merman either." Thomas grinned at the way the sailor scrambled to stand and paced across the deck to follow him, finding it cute how enamoured he had become as he stops by the bow of the ship.</p><p>"Yeah, I guess you're right... Meeting you could be a kind of treasure in itself." Hercules replied with a small smile, though the expression shifts to confusion as he tilts his head at the merman's extended hand.</p><p>"I would like to sit next to you, could you help me up? I'm afraid climbing is rather difficult with just a tail." Thomas explains with an easy smile, and the sailor nods as he takes the merman's hand in his and hoists him up and out of the water.</p><p>"Jesus you're big... N-Not that it's a bad thing!" He comments as he struggles to collect the mass of Thomas' tail in his arms, suddenly embarrassed again and his cheeks flushing with heat as he was met with the sound of the merman's melodious laughter again and set him down on the deck to him as he sat down with him.</p><p>"You're really sweet, you know that?" Thomas smiled a little more, dipping his fluke in the water and tucking most of his tail off to the side, letting silence settle between the two of them. It was a comfortable silence, giving them both the time they needed to process the day's events and where it led them and a chance to enjoy another's company on a calm midnight.</p><p>"So... Is there any real reason you wanted to come up here?" The sailor asks, breaking the silence and earning a small shrug in response from his new companion.</p><p>"I just thought it'd be easier to talk this way, or perhaps it'd just close some of the distance between us... I'm not really sure, honestly." Thomas admits, pulling his tail closer to his body as his gaze dropped to watch the ripples around the boat. Silence came over the pair again, though this time it was less comfortable. Hercules watched the merman with a frown, wondering what was going on behind those indigo eyes before he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close to his chest.</p><p>"It's okay, I don't mind... It's not like I got any company out here either. Except for you now, of course." He replied after a moment, offering Thomas a warm smile that only grew as their gazes met and he was able to catch a sparkle of hope in those beautiful indigo eyes. "Y'know, I wouldn't mind coming back here either if I got to see you again. Not sure how I'd do it, since I kinda trashed the map, but you found me on accident anyways so maybe we could make it work out. I don't got much to go back home to anyways..." Sure, Hercules may have started rambling a bit, but he couldn't really help it. Being with Thomas made him feel relaxed like he could enjoy the moment and not have to worry about much other than making sure the merman kept smiling. Thomas was happy too, and although he was a bit unused to the feeling of another's arm around him he happily let himself lean into the sailor's side and rested his head on his shoulder, humming in content as he closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the little moment they were sharing.</p><p>"If you're really that worried I can get you a conch shell... If you play it right the sound will travel for miles and guide me right to you. That way I could help you find this place again until you've learnt the way yourself." The merman explains, his voice a gentle noise that harmonized with the rippling of the water under the boat that Hercules could only describe as 'cute.' Sitting up a bit the merman opened his eyes again and pressed a kiss to the corner of his sailor's lips, humming in satisfaction at the way Hercules began to laugh to hide how flustered he'd become and settling against his side once more. "You're a good man, Hercules, so I'm not worried... Let's just talk, the night's still young and I'd like to hear you laugh some more." The merman muses, smiling up at his sailor with a little shine in his indigo eyes as he sees his sailor was smiling too, "I haven't heard something that nice in a very long time, nor have I met someone as nice as you either... So thank you, the reef is a little less lonely tonight because of you."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I also have a Tumblr where I post all my writings too as well as reblogging some things and just having some fun! So go follow me on .crescent-quill-writings if you wanna see!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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